Should you take a second job?

Right now is actually the perfect time to take a second job. The holiday season is gearing up in most retail stores, and chains everywhere are hiring seasonal workers. Whether it's stocking shelves, mopping floors, filling displays, or selling goods, the shopping season is ramping up and now is the time to locate and nab that those holiday gigs.

If you, like most People, are deep in debt, you might be wondering how exactly you are going to pay it off. Or maybe you're not in debt, but need to make some extra cash to put a down payment on a domestic appliance or a car,even start your own business. Maybe you just want to buy your sweetheart (a pet) something really special this holiday season.

Basically, you need more money, and you need it soon.

I've manage to get myself into and out of debt a couple of times (I'm talented like that), and the way I always clamor out of crushing debit totals is by taking an extra job on the evenings and weekends. It takes a little extra planning to make everything go smoothly, but the rewards of quickly making additional income are not to be underestimated.

Some things to consider when taking on a side job:
Don't overdo it

There's no point in working yourself to death. I don't mean that there is anything wrong with being tired for a couple of months, but don't overextend yourself to the point that it effects your health or your current job performance. Also, no one needs your exhaustion-induced erratic highway driving during the holidays.
Can you organize your life around the busy schedule?

It's important, when faced with a tough and busy schedule, to downgrade other areas of your life. You might have to skip holiday parties if you are working nights. Lunch may become Cup O'Noodles until crunch time is over. While there's no need to deprive yourself entirely while working 60+ hours a week, you need to be careful to let yourself work.
Is it worth your time?

I'm unmarried and have no dependents, so childcare isn't an issue for me. If spending time away from your family is an impossibility, then this might not be an option for you. It does help to calculate how much money you expect to make during the time that you plan to hold a second job, but the earnings should always offset the costs.

I've often heard job experts warn that you should never take a lower salary for a side job than you earn at your day job. I disagree, for several reasons. First, many white collar jobs involve collaborating with other team members, and they can't expected to stay up until midnight working on a grant proposal with you because that's when YOU want to work. Given the wacky hours that an additional part-time job might entail, it can be unreasonable to demand the same hourly wage that you make during the day. I'm a tech writer - it would be tough for me to say to a potential hiring manager "Yes, I expect to make as much as I do during the day, but I won't be available for daytime meetings or phone calls." I'll either have to charge less because I'm inconveniencing the employer with my weird hours, or I'll have to find a different type of job.

Moonlighting can also be a risk because of your current employer's rules about who you can and cannot work for on the side.
Will it affect your taxes?

If you already exist on the edge of a tax bracket, earning additional income might bump you into a higher economic stratus, which could result in the government taking a LOT more of your income through taxes than previously, thus eating up the additional money that you made by working a second job. This is definitely something to consider beforehand.
Will you keep at it?

The whole point of starting an extra part-time job is to make money, but it doesn't hurt to make positive network connections, if possible. There's no point in taking on a second job if you are just going to quit a week later. Not only will you not make the money you need/want, but you might alienate new coworkers or bosses who will have to scramble to hire someone to replace you.
Is it interesting, comfortable, or easy enough?

I you work at a desk all day. As a result, when you look for a second job, never seek employment that will have physically in the same position for an additional 25 hours a week. Instead, You may look into waitressing (hard work, but great exercise), dishwashing, housecleaning, yard work, babysitting, or something - ANYTHING other than your current job. The change of pace is nice for you. I don't think I could waitress full time, as I have a decided lack of patience for humanity, but on a short-term basis, it's a great change-up from my normal isolated environment.

I also don't look for anything that is particularly intellectually challenging. If I'm going to be working late into the night, my brain cannot be trusted to maintain logical or rhetorical abilities. There's no way I could make any extra money tutoring people for the GRE, but there are some people who thrive on constant intellectual stimulation.

If you don't have the luxury of being free to leave your home (say you're a stay-at-home mom), you might consider offering holiday childcare services, either during the day or in the evenings. People with enough disposable income might welcome a break from the kids for a holiday party or for holiday shopping.
Are there any side benefits?

If you can find a temp job in an industry that you are fascinated by, you're lucky. But even if you don't LOVE washing dishes, there can be benefits to working in a restaurant. I worked in one all through college vacation and got free meals every night. Some retailers might give employees (even temp employees) discounts on products or services or even give you free product samples. While this shouldn't be a primary consideration when looking for a side job, it certainly can help sweeten the pot and make the extra effort well worth it.

I'd be interested to hear from my readers who have held temp jobs over the holidays - what kind of work did you do? How did you make it work? Did you have to balance work and family? Where did you find the job? (I always find mine as a walk-in or on Craigslist).

டைம் AND MONEY

Have you ever thought, "If only I could do X, it wouldn't matter how much money I made?" Or maybe you've wondered, "Why do I feel like I do so much for so little compensation?" If you've had these or similar thoughts, you're not alone, and you're probably suffering from some disjointed thoughts about time and money.

Believe it or not, it's easy to get stuck living a life you're unhappy with because your time and your money aren't connected in the way you'd like them to be. If you don't think about it, you'll live a life that says you value what the people around you value, or what your parents taught you to value, but that may be a far cry from what you actually value. Here are some competing theories about the relationship between time and money, and some thoughts on figuring out what they mean to you.

Time is money
In this theory, your time is only as important as the amount of money you can make. You focus on a particular task for a particular amount of time and get paid a particular amount of money for your trouble. That money, and nothing else, shows you the value of your time.
Many people hold this as true, though some hold it to a greater extent than others. For many, this is only true during the work day, but personal time is different. But for others, this is a ruling principle of life. If you've ever felt like your personal value depended at all on your salary, that's evidence of this sort of thinking.

It's key to note that this is the principle that most jobs are built around. An employer determines how much it's worth to him to have a person performing a certain task for a certain amount of time, and pays that wage. There are definitely complicating factors, but that's the basis on which salaries are determined. So this is a driving principle in Western culture (and increasingly in Eastern ones).

Time over money
If this is what you believe, then the amount of money you make doesn't mean much to you. You'd much rather have your time to yourself, or at least under your control, than let someone else control it for whatever amount of money they value it at.
Do you work a lower-paying job because you get more days off or control your personal time? Then you might subscribe to this theory. Do you freelance because you want to be able to meet those friends for lunch whenever they're free? Then you definitely value controlling your time more than you value making a particular amount of money.

Money over time
Would you rather work through weekends to have more cash, particularly if you get overtime? Is the stress of major responsibility worth it to you because you make more money when you take it on? If it came down to a decision between a date-night with your spouse and a few more hours that would net you some serious income, would you choose to work?
If you answered "yes" to any of those questions, then there are times when you value money over time. You want cash, whether it's for financial security or so you can buy that new toy, and you're willng to give up total control of your time (and other people's) to get it.
Practically
In our daily lives, most of us subscribe to these different theories at different times. Maybe the success of our weekdays is determined by how much money we make, but that of our weekends determined by how much time we get to spend chillin' in front of the television.
We also subscribe to these ideas to varying degrees. Sometimes, money is important, but only so long as a person can take two weeks of vacation every summer. Or maybe someone wants to stay home with their kids, but they also need to make a certain amount of money to live.
It doesn't matter how you fit these ideas together; what matters is that you know how they fit together for you!

Figuring it out
Ask yourself the questions below. Spend 5-15 minutes answering each one, either in discussion with someone else or in a journal. When you've finished answering, you'll have a pretty good idea as to what you value, how much you value it, and when you value something else entirely.

1. If you had the option to work over the weekend making double-time, would you do it? What if your kid had a big game on Saturday or you had planned a date to the Met? How would you justify your choice?

2. Looking over the last year, how often have you taken vacation? Sick days? Did you ever go to work instead of taking time off because being absent negatively effected your paycheck?

3. How do you look at your wages? Are they never enough, just right, or plenty for your needs? Do you feel like you trade your time for money? If so, is it a fair trade? If not, would you prefer more money or more free time?
If you feel the desire, share some of your responses with உ me. I'd love to know மி readers stand!